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Snyder joins Orioles, provides depth at catcher

2/23/13: Chris Snyder hits a two-run homer against Shaun Marcum in the top of the second to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead

By Brittany Ghiroli
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MLB.com |

SEATTLE -- New Orioles catcher Chris Snyder was with the team on Monday afternoon in Seattle and the expectation is he will be activated on Tuesday.

Why the wait? The reason was twofold: give Snyder time to get acclimated after a whirlwind 24 hours and allow the Orioles to get a better idea of the time frame regarding catcher Taylor Teagarden (dislocated left thumb). Teagarden will see hand specialist Dr. Brian Schofield on Tuesday and he could be a potential candidate for the 60-day disabled list, which would free up a spot on the 40-man roster for Snyder and avoid another move.

Snyder, 32, was acquired in a trade from the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday evening to take Teagarden's spot and serve as Matt Wieters' backup.

"It's been a long road but in a short period of time," said Snyder, who started Spring Training with the Nationals before he was released and picked up by the Angels, who assigned him to Triple-A Salt Lake.

"It was one of those things, I was kind of waiting it out and fortunately an opportunity presented itself here. And now I'm here.

"I tried my hardest not to get caught up in [the frustration of waiting] but ... I had been in the big leagues since [2004], so my first day in Triple-A was this year and it was a tough pill to swallow. But I am still capable of playing so I don't want to finish my career saying, 'No, I still had something left in this tank. I quit early.' I definitely don't want to do that."

Snyder appeared in 706 games in the Majors from 2004-12 and was off to a hot start in the Pacific Coast League, batting .342 with seven homers and 21 RBIs in 21 games. He is expected to take the spot of Luis Exposito, who was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday night, and manager Buck Showalter said the organization has had its eye on Snyder since this winter.

Bench coach John Russell "has had experience with him," Showalter said. "We've had people watching him the last few days. He is in really good shape that's about as trim as I've seen him in a while. I think he has been trying to take some strain off his back. I know he had some disk surgery a couple years ago, that seems to be behind him. … He's been healthy and ready to go. He could see action Friday or Saturday."